How important are cheat meals or cheat days?
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One week isn't even a stall. And after such a huge loss in the first 3 weeks, I'd expect something of a "stall". Eat what MFP allows you (or at the very least 1200 cal/day to avoid malnutrition). Continue to be active. Stick with lower carb foods if it helps you avoid cravings. You can even keep doing the shakes if you want (I'm sure they make a quick, easy breakfast). But if you want this weight loss attempt to actually work, long-term, you need to eat more, period.0
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tlflag1620 wrote: »One week isn't even a stall. And after such a huge loss in the first 3 weeks, I'd expect something of a "stall". Eat what MFP allows you (or at the very least 1200 cal/day to avoid malnutrition). Continue to be active. Stick with lower carb foods if it helps you avoid cravings. You can even keep doing the shakes if you want (I'm sure they make a quick, easy breakfast). But if you want this weight loss attempt to actually work, long-term, you need to eat more, period.
Thank you! I will try to get in the right amount of calories.0 -
I agree that one week is not a "stall". Nowhere is it written that we will all lose weight every week. I tend to lose in small increments (less than half a pound) for a few weeks, and then will see a larger (2+ lb) loss.
And of course some weeks I lose nothing, and some weeks, despite my best efforts, I gain. Look at your average weight loss over time, not at a single week.0 -
Losing weight that fast and eating that little is neither sustainable not healthy.
If MFP gives you 1900 then aim to hit that and stop cutting out foods like bread and pasta unnecessarily. You can eat those foods and still lose weight you just need to fit them into your daily goal.
Do it slowly and healthily, your body will thank you and you are more likely to be able to continue the healthier habits once you reach your goal.0 -
katieballenget wrote: »extremelygrumpycat wrote: »To answer the question you have - cheat meals are important to some and not important to others. I'd not do this if I couldn't have the food I love and enjoy. I MAKE it fit into my daily calorie goals and I enjoy it and smile. This is about a lifestyle change not just about cutting out foods and being restricted. Cheat meals, to me, are important. Though I don't even call them cheat meals since I make it fit into my daily calories.
As for the other stuff on this thread that I've read - 1000 cal a day is going to hurt you more in the long run. It's not sustainable. If MFP is giving you 1900 cal, eat to that. That amount is already a deficit for you to lose weight. You didn't gain it all over night, you cannot expect to lose it over night either. I don't believe in Shakeology but I don't know enough about it to really share anything about it. I am not a fan of breakfast either so I tend to use GNC Protein drinks - that fills me. But I also start work at 7am and my lunch break isn't until 1pm, so I NEED to have something with a lot of protein in the morning. And I just am simple not hungry until around 9am usually, unless I use the protein drink. However, to each their own for that, right? But still, the minimum for a woman is 1200 a day. But still, why deprive yourself? Can you see yourself eating like this for the rest of your life? Eat the way you will once you've hit your goal. It's important to incorporate healthy and sustainable eating patterns now so you can stay at your goal later on. Also, you said it's been a few weeks only, you haven't yet stalled out. A plateau is weeks upon weeks of no change. Give it time. Eat more. Weight your food. Enjoy food!
Thank you very much for your advice! I will definitely try to add more food to my diet. I enjoy the shakeology, but will do some more research on it. It was given to me by a friend who has lost a good amount of weight, but she has also told me I need to get in more calories.
please tell me your friend is not a beach body coach???
No, my friend is not a coach. Lol.0 -
while i was losing the large chunk of my weight, 90 pounds or so, they were super important for me. It helped me as I learned better eating habits through the week, shifting my mindset from poor eating habits to healthier balanced choices. I could tell myself save the craving for pizza/pasta/ice cream for your weekly splurge meal.
Now, two years in, and 100 pounds lighter those big splurge meals take a bigger toll on my weekly goals, so I personally need to be more moderate. I haven't figured out how that will work for me yet. Its great that some people can have pizza/ice cream/pop tarts everyday and not affect their goals (whatever) but i find those food choices are too high in calories and dont keep me full. I would rather have 2 mangos than 1 slice of bread.
Bottom line, find what works for you. No reason to follow others to find your path.0 -
Thank you all very much for all your input! I have a lot of weight to lose and do not want to do it the wrong way. Like I said, I eat when I'm hungry. I guess the excitement of losing so much got to me. I will definitely aim for my target calorie intake. I just need to be patient with my body. Like some of you have said, I didn't gain it all in one night, I won't lose it that way either. Thanks again!0
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while i was losing the large chunk of my weight, 90 pounds or so, they were super important for me. It helped me as I learned better eating habits through the week, shifting my mindset from poor eating habits to healthier balanced choices. I could tell myself save the craving for pizza/pasta/ice cream for your weekly splurge meal.
Now, two years in, and 100 pounds lighter those big splurge meals take a bigger toll on my weekly goals, so I personally need to be more moderate. I haven't figured out how that will work for me yet. Its great that some people can have pizza/ice cream/pop tarts everyday and not affect their goals (whatever) but i find those food choices are too high in calories and dont keep me full. I would rather have 2 mangos than 1 slice of bread.
Bottom line, find what works for you. No reason to follow others to find your path.
Congratulations on your amazing weight loss! And thank you for the encouragement to find the right path for myself! I agree, I would also rather have 2 mangos! It's easier for me to stay away from certain foods to avoid craving them later on.0 -
They are not important. At least not to me. I find restrictions to be counter productive. I eat what I want when I want I just eat less of it and so I never need to "cheat"0
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katieballenget wrote: »Thank you all very much for all your input! I have a lot of weight to lose and do not want to do it the wrong way. Like I said, I eat when I'm hungry. I guess the excitement of losing so much got to me. I will definitely aim for my target calorie intake. I just need to be patient with my body. Like some of you have said, I didn't gain it all in one night, I won't lose it that way either. Thanks again!
OP - here are my thoughts if you want to do it the right way:
1. get a food scale and weigh all solids
2. eat to the number that mfp gives you. So in your case make sure you net 1900
3. ditch the shakeology and have real food for breakfast.
4. realize that no food is "bad" and it is OK to incorporate bread, pasta, ice cream, etc, into your daily diet
5. make sure that you are eating nutrient dense foods like chicken, vegetables, fish, rice, fruit, etc.
6. this is not necessary, but I would suggest finding a form of exercise that you enjoy - walking, strength training, etc, and do something where you are moving around
7. repeat until you get desired results
good luck0 -
katieballenget wrote: »Thank you all very much for all your input! I have a lot of weight to lose and do not want to do it the wrong way. Like I said, I eat when I'm hungry. I guess the excitement of losing so much got to me. I will definitely aim for my target calorie intake. I just need to be patient with my body. Like some of you have said, I didn't gain it all in one night, I won't lose it that way either. Thanks again!
OP - here are my thoughts if you want to do it the right way:
1. get a food scale and weigh all solids
2. eat to the number that mfp gives you. So in your case make sure you net 1900
3. ditch the shakeology and have real food for breakfast.
4. realize that no food is "bad" and it is OK to incorporate bread, pasta, ice cream, etc, into your daily diet
5. make sure that you are eating nutrient dense foods like chicken, vegetables, fish, rice, fruit, etc.
6. this is not necessary, but I would suggest finding a form of exercise that you enjoy - walking, strength training, etc, and do something where you are moving around
7. repeat until you get desired results
good luck
This is excellent advice, I completely agree with all of it.0 -
katieballenget wrote: »katieballenget wrote: »But in the last 3 weeks I have cut all of the addictive eating habits out.
But thye are still there, cutting them out doesnt mean youve done anything other than delay them. On MFP people eat foods they like in moderation.
The cravings for those foods are gone. I just figured it was because I cut them out. I think once I've lost the weight I want to lose, which will take quite some time I know, I will be able to eat those items in moderation. But like I've said, I'm new to this and have no nutrition background.
The reason a lot of people fail at maintaining a weight loss is because of this mindset... that once at your goal weight you can start eating 'normally' again. The truth is that once you're at your goal weight, you will have pretty much the same calorie goal as now (if on a 500 deficit) to maintain. So better get started now on sustainable habits you will be able to keep once you're at your goal weight.
Anyway, cheat days just slow down your weight loss. It's best to limit them to special occasions, and otherwise eat what you want within your calories.0 -
you can eat wholewheat bread, it has lot of good ( macro or micro elements), best thing is make it yourself in oven. That way you avoid eating useless chemical that are added into most of breads. Try getting wholemeal rye flour type 20000
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katieballenget wrote: »Thank you all very much for all your input! I have a lot of weight to lose and do not want to do it the wrong way. Like I said, I eat when I'm hungry. I guess the excitement of losing so much got to me. I will definitely aim for my target calorie intake. I just need to be patient with my body. Like some of you have said, I didn't gain it all in one night, I won't lose it that way either. Thanks again!
OP - here are my thoughts if you want to do it the right way:
1. get a food scale and weigh all solids
2. eat to the number that mfp gives you. So in your case make sure you net 1900
3. ditch the shakeology and have real food for breakfast.
4. realize that no food is "bad" and it is OK to incorporate bread, pasta, ice cream, etc, into your daily diet
5. make sure that you are eating nutrient dense foods like chicken, vegetables, fish, rice, fruit, etc.
6. this is not necessary, but I would suggest finding a form of exercise that you enjoy - walking, strength training, etc, and do something where you are moving around
7. repeat until you get desired results
good luck
All of this. Most excellent advice. If you really aren't a breakfast person, and still like smoothies instead of solid food, that's cool, but still, ditch the Shakeology. There are better protein drinks. I don't have an appetite sometimes and I use protein bars and shakes then too.
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So what's wrong with shakeology? Is herbalife any better? Or advocare? Why do you guys dislike these protein, vitamin enriched, easy to make shakes?0
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katieballenget wrote: »So what's wrong with shakeology? Is herbalife any better? Or advocare? Why do you guys dislike these protein, vitamin enriched, easy to make shakes?
because they are over priced garbage and have nothing to do with nutrition and health.
you can drink a protein shake a multivitamin and get the same benefit for a lot less money.
Additionally, you really should eat REAL food, as opposed to doing meal replacement shakes.0 -
katieballenget wrote: »So what's wrong with shakeology? Is herbalife any better? Or advocare? Why do you guys dislike these protein, vitamin enriched, easy to make shakes?
I dislike MLM's. You can buy protein powders from a store. You don't need to buy them from some MLM scheme. The one I see recommended most is Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey.
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katieballenget wrote: »So what's wrong with shakeology? Is herbalife any better? Or advocare? Why do you guys dislike these protein, vitamin enriched, easy to make shakes?
because they are over priced garbage and have nothing to do with nutrition and health.
you can drink a protein shake a multivitamin and get the same benefit for a lot less money.
Additionally, you really should eat REAL food, as opposed to doing meal replacement shakes.
I do eat real food. Lol. I just like how fast and easy it is to whip a shake up in the morning before I go to work. I eat chicken, fish, vegetables, fruit, cheese, etc. for the remainder of the day. And plenty of water. What other protein shakes are available? What would you recommend? I was given this bag of shakeology, so I wasn't out any money for trying it. I did advocare years ago and got tired of it. I actually think the shakeology taste pretty good and doesn't leave that after that's you get from other meal replacement shakes.0 -
katieballenget wrote: »katieballenget wrote: »So what's wrong with shakeology? Is herbalife any better? Or advocare? Why do you guys dislike these protein, vitamin enriched, easy to make shakes?
because they are over priced garbage and have nothing to do with nutrition and health.
you can drink a protein shake a multivitamin and get the same benefit for a lot less money.
Additionally, you really should eat REAL food, as opposed to doing meal replacement shakes.
I do eat real food. Lol. I just like how fast and easy it is to whip a shake up in the morning before I go to work. I eat chicken, fish, vegetables, fruit, cheese, etc. for the remainder of the day. And plenty of water. What other protein shakes are available? What would you recommend? I was given this bag of shakeology, so I wasn't out any money for trying it. I did advocare years ago and got tired of it. I actually think the shakeology taste pretty good and doesn't leave that after that's you get from other meal replacement shakes.
go to Walmart or similar store and get gold standard whey ….it should be like 20.00 for a pretty large container..
I only drink protein shakes when i need more protein or am in a rush and don't have time to make something…
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mamapeach910 wrote: »katieballenget wrote: »So what's wrong with shakeology? Is herbalife any better? Or advocare? Why do you guys dislike these protein, vitamin enriched, easy to make shakes?
I dislike MLM's. You can buy protein powders from a store. You don't need to buy them from some MLM scheme. The one I see recommended most is Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey.
I will definitely look into that one! Like I said, I was given this bag of shakeology for free. And also, I live in a small country town that doesn't really have any health food stores. Where would I find what you mentioned?0
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